| Team: | Washington Redskins |
| Year: | 1978 |
| Record: | 8–8 |
| Division Place: | 3rd NFC East |
| Coach: | Jack Pardee |
| Owner: | Edward Bennett Williams |
| President: | Edward Bennett Williams |
| Off Coach: | Joe Walton |
| Def Coach: | Doc Urich |
| General Manager: | Bobby Beathard |
| Stadium: | RFK Stadium |
| Playoffs: | Did not qualify |
| Shortnavlink: | Redskins seasons |
The Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 47th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 42nd in Washington, D.C. The team failed to improve on their 9–5 record from 1977, finishing 8-8.
This was the first of Jack Pardee's three seasons as head coach of the Redskins. This was also the first season in which the NFL expanded from a 14-game season to a 16-game schedule. The Redskins started the season 6-0 and got to 8-3, but ended the season with a five-game losing streak and missed the playoffs. The losing streak began with a loss to a Cardinals team which had started 0-8. The Cardinals would not win again at RFK Stadium until 1993, their sixth season in Arizona. Quarterback Billy Kilmer, who served as backup to Joe Theismann, retired following the season.
See main article: 1978 NFL draft.
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 159 | RB | Florida | ||
| 8 | 202 | Walker Lee | WR | North Carolina | |
| 8 | 219 | LB | Washington State | ||
| 9 | 243 | John Hurley | QB | Santa Clara | |
| 10 | 270 | Scott Hertenstein | DE | Azusa Pacific | |
| 11 | 297 | Mike Williams | DB | Texas A&M | |
| 12 | 324 | Steve McCabe | G | Bowdoin |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 3 | at New England Patriots | W 16–14 | 1–0 | Schaefer Stadium | 55,037 | Recap | |
| 2 | September 10 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 35–30 | 2–0 | RFK Stadium | 54,380 | Recap | |
| 3 | September 17 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 28–10 | 3–0 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 49,282 | Recap | |
| 4 | September 24 | New York Jets | W 23–3 | 4–0 | RFK Stadium | 54,729 | Recap | |
| 5 | Dallas Cowboys | W 9–5 | 5–0 | RFK Stadium | 55,031 | Recap | ||
| 6 | October 8 | at Detroit Lions | W 21–19 | 6–0 | Pontiac Silverdome | 60,555 | Recap | |
| 7 | October 15 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 10–17 | 6–1 | Veterans Stadium | 65,722 | Recap | |
| 8 | October 22 | at New York Giants | L 6–17 | 6–2 | Giants Stadium | 76,192 | Recap | |
| 9 | October 29 | San Francisco 49ers | W 38–20 | 7–2 | RFK Stadium | 53,706 | Recap | |
| 10 | at Baltimore Colts | L 17–21 | 7–3 | Memorial Stadium | 57,631 | Recap | ||
| 11 | November 12 | New York Giants | W 16–13 | 8–3 | RFK Stadium | 53,271 | Recap | |
| 12 | November 19 | St. Louis Cardinals | L 17–27 | 8–4 | RFK Stadium | 52,460 | Recap | |
| 13 | November 23 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 10–37 | 8–5 | Texas Stadium | 64,905 | Recap | |
| 14 | December 3 | L 0–16 | 8–6 | RFK Stadium | 52,860 | Recap | ||
| 15 | December 10 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 17–20 | 8–7 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 54,178 | Recap | |
| 16 | L 10–14 | 8–8 | RFK Stadium | 49,774 | Recap | |||
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | ||||||||
It was an exciting contest, and the fireworks began early as the Eagles' Wilbert Montgomery opened the scoring with a great 34-yard touchdown run in the first period, but back came the Redskins as Joe Theismann who was to have another good game scores from the 4 to even the game. But the Eagles came back as a field goal by Nick Mike-Mayer from 32, but then it was the Redskins offensive show as the Redskins scored 21 unanswered points to take a commanding 28-10 lead. For the day Theismann passed for 226 yards and 3 touchdown passes. Then both teams traded touchdowns to make it a 35-16, the last one was a flea flicker touchdown pass from 37 yards from Joe Theismann to Jean Fugett. But back came the Eagles who in the 3rd year of the Dick Vermeil era became a competitive team. Just after the Skins scored the Eagles came back as Montgomery first scored from 8 yards and then on the next possession scored from 5 yards. The Eagles also drove deep as Montgomery scored form 5 yards but was brought back due to a holding penalty and on the next play Mike Curtis intercept a Ron Jaworski pass ending the drive and with it the Redskins come away with a win and sole possession of first place in the NFC East.